


the truth is just a rule that you can bend

by doctrpepper



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, I tried a new style, enjoy, the series from the point of view of the fire nation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 10:57:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20656094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctrpepper/pseuds/doctrpepper
Summary: a story gets toldor, in which the Fire Nation begins to shift





	the truth is just a rule that you can bend

**Author's Note:**

> i sometimes like to experiment with different styles of writing or whatever. this is. a thing

It starts like this: a guard goes home. He sees his son. His son is thirteen. The prince's age. He says to his wife, "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: a wife is in the market. She talks to her friends. There is something on her mind. They ask. She looks left, she looks right, and leans in. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: wives go home to their husbands, "Did you hear?" Children eavesdrop and tell other kids at school, "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: friends stop friends, servants stop servants, shopkeepers stop shopkeepers, students stop students. "Did you hear?" 

The details get muddied. They always seem to. The Fire Lord is angry, or he is unfeeling. The Fire Prince is contrite, or he is in fear. The Fire Princess is aloof, or she is prideful. The Dragon of the West is in tears, or he is vengeful. None of it matters, in the end. What matters is the Burning. What matters is the horrible, terrible action. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: the Fire Lord makes appearances in the city. The people go to see, as they are told to. They exchange glances. They examine him, as if they can read their Fire Lord, as if they can work out his motivations. They whisper to each other as he makes grand statements about the victory of the Fire Nation. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: soldiers go to the front lines, soldiers return from the front lines. The ones from the capital bear with them the weight of a tale. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: soldiers get injured, too injured to fight, too old, too tired, and they bring with them to their villages, to the colonies, to the mainland, to the islands a story. "Did you hear?" 

The Fire Lord sends out orders, makes speeches, does all a Fire Lord is known to do. He praises the Fire Princess. He calls the Dragon of the West a coward. He makes no mention of the Fire Prince. The people glance at each other, searching for mutual understanding. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: more tales appear, from the soldiers on the coast, the soldiers in the colonies, of a boy too young to be so far from the homeland, in an old, dilapidated ship that should have been scrapped long ago and manned by a crew of misfits and army rejects. A boy with a scar. The soldiers turn to each other. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: there is news of the Avatar. Whispering in the furthest reaches of the Fire Empire, of an enemy powerful enough to defeat the Fire Lord himself. The people are afraid of what this means for their leader and their country. Then they remember a small, angry boy with a scar. They glance at each other, seeking like minds and fearing notice from those who do not agree. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: soldiers return from a failed invasion in the North. The Avatar has returned, and he carries with him the favor of the spirits. The people meet in secret, in hiding, and talk, rather than simply glance. They speak of things they would pay the ultimate price for, were they to be discovered. They lean in, crouching in basements and clearings and back rooms. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: the Fire Lord declares the Fire Prince a traitor to the Fire Nation, on account of working with the Avatar. He declares the Avatar an enemy of the Fire Nation. Those who did not believe he was returned now realize the possibility. They turn to each other. "Did you hear?" 

It was supposed to go like this: the Fire Lord declares the Fire Prince and the Avatar enemies of the Fire Nation. The people would hold disdain for both, those that even remembered the Fire Prince and the old tales of the Avatar. They would turn to him to protect them, and he would strike down the Avatar with ease and leave the Fire Prince and the Dragon of the West to wither away in the Earth Kingdom. The people would hear of his great battle with the Avatar and tell it amongst themselves, as peasants do: "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: the Fire Lord declares the Fire Prince and the Avatar enemies of the Fire Nation. The people talk in their basements, their clearings, their backrooms. They go to libraries, ask the elderly, ask the soldiers, do all they can to learn of the Master of All Elements. They hear of his exploits in the Earth Kingdom, in the colonies, in the Water Tribes. They hear of his plans to end the war. They turn to each other, "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: the Fire Princess is sent to kill the Avatar. The people remember how she had smiled, laughed, at the Burning. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: Ba Sing Se falls, and the Fire Prince returns triumphant. He has killed the Avatar and taken the Walled City. He formally greets the people when he returns to the palace. Those who are near, the servants, the students, the shopkeepers, the wives, the guards, all see the scar. They see the young Fire Prince, back home after so long banished and exiled, struggling in the life he once knew. They return to their homes and tell those who could not see: "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: there is an invasion, but the Fire Princess had known of it, and the people were evacuated, save for the guards who were left behind to form a diversion. The people are left huddled in homes too small to fit citizens who are not supposed to be there, and they talk. "Did you hear?" 

They talk of another diversion, long ago and far away. They talk of a myth, a story, as the Avatar had been before he had turned out to be all too real. They talk of young soldiers sent out to die to win a small battle in a war that had not, was still not won. They talk of a meeting, no one allowed inside but the Generals, the Fire Lord, the Dragon of the West, the Fire Prince, with no guards to tell the tale, no servants to spread the truth. Hidden away, leaning close, whispering words that would mean death, they talk of the Fire Prince being the only one in that meeting to say no. No one knows if this is true, no one knows if this is a fabrication, but still, they talk. It certainly seems believable with what is happening in their home city. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: the invasion is over, the people return home. The city has felt the pain of attack, but will rebuild soon enough. Still, there was an attack, which has never happened before, in all the years of war. The Avatar is alive and he is strong, getting stronger. The Fire Lord survived this time, but the Avatar is gone to gather his strength. The people are told this with a solemnity that implies they should be fearful, be saddened for their country and their Fire Lord. Instead, they turn to each other and whisper excitedly, "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: a guard at a prison goes home. She had never liked her job, but it had allowed her to hear things, things she was sure she should not have been hearing. She says to her partner, "Did you hear?" 

Her partner goes to the market. By now she knows who she can trust, and who she cannot. She waits until the familiar faces of her allies are turned to her and asks, "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: again, the Fire Lord speaks. Again, he praises the Fire Princess. Again, he calls the Dragon of the West a coward. Again, he makes no mention of the Fire Prince. But the people know this time, they know the Avatar is out there, biding his time, and the Fire Prince is, too. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: Sozin's Comet returns and soldiers are selected for an important mission. The Fire Lord declares himself the Phoenix King and appoints the Fire Princess as Fire Lord. She is not crowned immediately. The people notice this. The soldiers talk, about their mission, which they have been told is secret. The servants talk, about the Fire Princess, who is slipping. "Did you hear?" 

It goes like this: a flying bison is seen in the sky when the comet is at its zenith. Fire is seen from the palace in great plumes. No one is left to tell the tale, but the people whisper, wonder. "Did you hear?" 

It ends like this: the comet passes, and with it the short reign of the Phoenix King, and his chosen Fire Lord, who had never formally been Fire Lord at all. The Fire Prince is returned, and he is to be crowned the new Fire Lord. The people come out in droves to celebrate his valiant return. The Avatar is by his side. They promise peace. They promise unity. They promise the soldiers will return home and the people will no longer be sent to fight. The promise an end to violence. The people cheer. They no longer have to hide their words with whispers and walls. "Did you hear?" 

It concludes like this: a guard goes home. He sees his son. His son is sixteen now. He will not have to go off into the army and fight in a war and die for a Fire Lord that cares nothing for anyone's son, let alone his own. The Fire Prince, now the Fire Lord, has put an end to all that. Things are peaceful now, and the guard has even been given a raise. He says to his wife, "Did you hear?" 

**Author's Note:**

> i didn't link the music i listened to while writing this because it was the scott pilgrim soundtrack. why? it slaps. next question. title is from the clash at demonhead song if you were wondering
> 
> [writing blog](https://pishuu.tumblr.com/) and [atla specific blog](https://kiyosji.tumblr.com/) come talk to me!


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